Press Release: Dayton’s Conservation Budget Hailed As Most Transparent In Years

MINNEAPOLIS – Today Conservation Minnesota released a report that analyzed the Governor’s recently released budget proposal, and found a refreshing amount of transparency in the proposal.

For each of the past ten years, Conservation Minnesota has issued similar reports on gubernatorial budget proposals as well as follow-up reports on final budget actions and bonding packages. In doing so, the organization has become accustomed to uncovering gimmicks and shifts that have masked the real impact of decreasing funding to conservation issues.

But with this budget, the organization found that the shifts and gimmicks of the past are absent. When the organization issued its first report in 2002, support for conservation was on a steady decline, reaching just 1% of general fund spending by 2008. Since then, shifts and cuts have decreased that percent by nearly one third. The Governor’s current budget proposal stabilizes funding and does not rely on raids, shifts or budgeting gimmicks.

“We are encouraged by the fact that the Governor stuck to his word, delivering a straightforward budget proposal,” said Paul Austin, Executive Director of Conservation Minnesota. “There are cuts to conservation and areas that require increased funding, but the Governor’s proposal stops the bleeding and starts an honest discussion about how to protect Minnesota’s lakes, lands, and way of life.”

This year’s report, which is available at www.conservationminnesota.org/nogimmicks, analyzes the budget and provides recommendations for how the legislature should work to strengthen the proposal to make it one that will be even more popular within Minnesota’s politically active conservation community.

MORE INFO: For more information on the report or to set up an interview with a representative from Conservation Minnesota, please contact Nate Dybvig at 651.230.3018 or nate@conservationminnesota.org.